Ray's Launch

As Wikipedia says about the very lovely and talented board member and writer extraordinaire, Ray "grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Hsu received an Honours B.A. and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in English Literary Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While completing his Ph.D., he taught for over two years at Oakhill Correctional Institution, where he founded the Prison Writing Workshop. He is currently based in Vancouver, where he is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.

He has published over a hundred and twenty-five poems in over forty magazines internationally. His work has appeared in such anthologies as Breathing Fire 2: Canada's New Poets and The Echoing Years: An Anthology of Poetry from Canada & Ireland. In 2007, Hsu and his work were the subject of an episode of the television documentary series Heart of a Poet produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge." Watch here as Ray performs for the Issue 15.3 magazine launch of Ricepaper.

Books

Anthropy (2004)[4]
"Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon" (2010)[5]

Awards

Gerald Lampert Award (2005)
Trillium Book Award (Poetry), finalist (2005)
Lyman S.V. Judson and Ellen Mackechnie Judson Award (2007)
E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry (2000, 2001)

Want to Get Published? Lorimer is Looking, ACWW Wants to Help You

James Lorimer & Company Ltd., a Canadian publishing house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is looking for writers. In particular, it is searching for submissions to its Children’s and Young Adult Series and has come to ACWW, looking for manuscripts for its "SideStreets Series" – an edgy, issues-based novels for ages 13 and up.

While first priority is good writing, with believable characters, situations, and dialogue, all settings must be Canadian, with storylines that take place in the child or teen world with minimal adult involvement. As publishers of novels and short stories based on the original Degrassi TV series, Lorimer shares the commitment evident in that pioneering series to serious engagement with themes and issues in a way that reaches a contemporary youth audience.

At this time we do not publish picture books, seasonal stories, cookbooks, board books, activity books, historical fiction, or fantasy. We are not interested in stories written to convey a lesson or moral.

Want to know more about SideStreets?

• Interest level: ages 13 and up (high school/YA)

• Reading level: grades 3-5 (hi-lo)

• Length: 30,000 words

• Genre: realistic, contemporary, issues-based fiction

SideStreets novels are fast-paced, high-interest stories with the ability to pull in even the most reluctant teen readers. They feature realistic characters, situations, and dialogue, and explore the often difficult feelings and situations faced by contemporary Canadian teens. We’re not interested in overdone story lines drawn from the world of movies and television rather than from real life. Past topics include: addiction, sexuality, bullying, gangs, mental disorders, and gambling. Characters must be aged 15 and up. Stories that feature male main characters are especially welcome. Settings must be Canadian and contemporary, and diversity of background in terms of race, class and ethnicity is particularly welcome.

ACWW will provide the rest of the details for submissions if you're interested. Please contact us at: info@asiancanadianwritersworkshop.ca. If you are interested in having your manuscript read, we would also be happy to do that, too. The ACWW is committed to helping emerging writers publish in the genre of Asian Canadian writing. When we helped create Henry Chow & Other Stories Anthology, we wanted a young adult fiction book that would appeal to readers who have grown up in Canada reading stories which oftentimes rarely had stories that they could personally relate in an ethnically diverse country such as ours. Here's our chance to make a difference, a change.